March 1, 2007

Says Mickey Kaus -- talking about me -- with Bob Wright, in this segment of the new Bloggingheads.

Gah! Am I talking about myself too much today? I really don't think it's all about me, but it's just one of those days. And, actually, I'm not talking just about me. I talked about retro sexuality, dirty words, and the scrotum-y look of Bill O'Reilly's neck or whatever the hell that first post was about. It's not all about me, but it is about me and some rather low things.

And so Bob has this obsession with why more women don't like Bloggingheads, and how he had to ask me what's causing that -- hence Mickey's wisecrack -- and then how my answer was pretty much about my own opinion -- as a woman -- rather than more broadly stereotypical ideas of what women want. (Bob's very into gender difference.)

Bob thinks I was "scathing," in that I called Bloggingheads "grim" and "remorseless." Whoops! He heard me. That was a rather harsh thing for a woman to say. Then there's this:

Bob: I think we should encourage Ann Althouse to come up with what would... Just turn her loose. She should do her dream Bloggingheads that women are going to like, and she should decide who she wants to do it with, and if they are game, we will get a camera to them, whether they are in the North Pole or North Korea. Wherever. Unless it's North Korea. We can't do that. We will get a camera to them.

Mickey: The Bob Wright estrogen challenge.

Bob: Yeah. Yeah.

Mickey: That's good. Although I have a feeling... Ann Althouse is a pretty argumentative person, so the...

Bob: She'll pick a fight. Oh, she and Eric Alterman.

Mickey: I think that she's got to provide a sort of nurturing...

Bob: The Althouse-Alterman thing, the Alt-Alt thing, is out of control...

Well, they left the thought unformed, but you can see what they both were thinking. I'm not really a good representative of the female mind, because I'm not feminine enough! They both essentially said that. Especially Mickey.

But Bob did make an offer that I should accept. I need to come up with a Bloggingheads partner who would do the kind of diavlog that women would like, which, of course, I'll take to mean I get to do one that would be what I would like.

46 comments:

You really think what women want is to see two women. I don't. I think it should be a man, but a man who likes to joke around part of the time, free associate from topic to topic, and shift from light to heavy with ease.

Adam - but he's, like, 12! He looks even younger than Yglesias! I didn't take him all that seriously before, but knowing that he's just a kid, that makes it pretty hard to take him seriously. Angry teen syndrome.

I think you ought to choose who you want to choose (because that is who you will choose). Be that as it may, it is a compliment to you that your presence looms large enough for Mickey to remark:

She's the only woman we've got.

I wonder what Jacqueline Shire, Virginia Postrel, Megan McArdle, Anne-Marie Slaughter, Amy Sullivan, Julia Sweig, and Arianna Huffington think of that remark. ;-) Perhaps it is because you are just about the only woman who has been interested in doing blogginheads a second time?

As for suggestions, I agree Ezra Klein would not be an enjoyable interlocutor. Pity, as when he's not so busy being disagreeable, Klein is quite capable of being engaging and agreeably disagreeing. Byron York? David Corn? Julian Sanchez?

You're going to think I'm crazy, but you want a guy about your age or so, who can joke a bit, but someone that won't overshadow you, maybe not really popular, but only somewhat popular, and yet familiar with your oeuvre....

I'm watching a PBS presentation of George Harrisons Concert for Bangala Desh. What an aggregation of great musicians from that time.I had never seen it before though I worked on the show and was there. I had forgotten that Badfinger was part of the band and that was the only time that I saw them . That show was put together so quickly it is amazing that they played together so well. I would have to give a lot of credit for that to the rock solid drumming of Jim Keltner and Ringo. Dylan, Harrison, and Leon Russel singing Just Like a Woman. Great stuff, great memories.

lee david, I darn you to heck. You have stolen the two perfect choices I was going to suggest.

ruth anne adams I semi-darn you to a quasi-heck for stealing my male back-up suggestion (and what a back up Lileks would be!)

Steyn would be absolute gold. Honestly, I'd think Jonah Goldberg could fill this role well as well in spite of the fact that you've already done one of these with him and it was a little animated in parts.

One of the best things "The B-heads" could do to reduce the wonkiness is to get rid of the "book look". Put up a simple backdrop with some tasteful set dressing and you won't fade into the wonky background. This is a visual medium after all. A chair against a blank wall doesn't cut it either. Some attention to simple lighting technique would also help. From my perspective these things typically look like they are emanating from each persons own idea of an intelectual cave/bunker. It visually distracts and clutters the discussion.